Pregame Shootaround: Florida vs Alabama (Saturday, 5:30 pm)

ALABAMA at FLORIDA

When: Saturday, 5:30 p.m. (ET)
Where: O'Connell Center, Gainesville, Fla.
Records: Florida (16-8, 7-4); Alabama (14-9, 5-6)
TV: SEC Network (with Dave Neal and Barry Booker)
Radio: Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network (with Mick Hubert and Bill Koss). Check for availability here.

STAKES, STARS AND STATS

>>> For the Gators, it's a fifth straight Southeastern Conference game against a foe in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth. UF, in a tie with Texas A&M for second place in the league standings and just one game behind the first-place logjam of LSU, Kentucky and South Carolina, is coming off Tuesday night's 77-73 defeat of Ole Miss, the Gators' sixth win in the last eight outings. Alabama, meanwhile, beat A&M at home Wednesday and has now won four of its last five. Not bad, considering they started the league season 1-5. ... The Crimson Tide lead the all-time series 73-66, but the Gators have won 11 straight, 13 of 14 and are 40-19 at home. ... UF beat Bama twice last season, winning 52-50 on a drive and power dunk by Dorian Finney-Smith with 21 seconds left at Tuscaloosa, then again courtesy of Finney-Smith and his 23 points, 11 rebounds and 4-for-9 shooting from the 3-point line in a 69-61 victory in the SEC Tournament at Nashville. That game turned out to be the last Florida victory for Coach Billy Donovan.

>>> Once the worst shooting team in the SEC, the Gators have improved to No. 8 in the league in field-goal percentage (.430) and after a run of cold games from long distance -- 19 of 61 over the last three games (.311) -- sit at 12th in 3-point field-goal percentage (.328) and 13th at free-throw percentage (.646). Meanwhile, UF's last three opponents have put a dent in the Florida defense, thanks to 46.8-percent shooting from the floor and a torrid 30-for-60 (yes, 50 percent) from deep. ... Finney-Smith (15.5 ppg, 8.1 rpg) leads the Gators in both scoring and rebounding, with his numbers improved markedly since the start of the SEC season, including 54-percent from the floor, 42 from 3 and 81 from the free-throw line. ... Backup forward Devin Robinson is coming off a performance against Ole Miss that Coach Mike White termed the lithe sophomore's best all-around game in his two UF seasons. Robinson had 15 points and five rebounds, but four of those boards came on the offensive end and he also drew three charges. Robinson flashed these sort of games earlier in the season against some mid-major foes, so it's about consistency in these really big games for the 6-9, 190-pounder. ... After three straight games starting a trio of guards, Florida went back to its more conventional first unit with the return of forward Justin Leon (4.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg) from a two-game absence with a concussion. Leon was not very good good against the Rebels, so which way White goes against Alabama remains to be seen. ... Center John Egbunu (10.9 ppg, 6.4 rpg) is coming off his fourth double-double of the season -- and his first since Jan. 2 against Georgia.

>>> Alabama, in its first year under former NBA point guard and head coach Avery Johnson, has played one of the toughest schedules in the league and starting to find some rhythm within Johnson's system. ... The Tide have won three straight, defeating Mississippi State on the road in overtime, Missouri at home and No. 15 Texas A&M by one point this week. While the Tide rates as the second-worst SEC team in scoring per game (67.8), they've gone for at least 80 in two of the previous three. ... Senior guard Retin Obasohan (16.0 ppg) is the team's scoring leader and has increased his per-game average to 18.8 in league play. Forward Riley Norris (8.7 ppg) also has upped his SEC average (11.5 pg). Norris and guard Arthur Edwards (9.9 ppg, 4.1 rpg) are threats from the 3-point line; Norris at 42.4 percent and Edwards 40.3. ... Bama is not a great passing team, evidenced by their league-low 11 assists per game. The Tide also give the ball away more than anyone in the conference at 14.2 turnovers per game.

SOME NUMBERS OF NOTE

* 4 -- Wins by Alabama against ranked opponents (Wichita State, Notre Dame, South Carolina and Texas A&M), which is the most by than any other SEC team.

* 7 -- Coaches among the nation's 40 in their first seasons at a school who have matched their new program's number of wins from last season. One of those seven is White, who won his 16th Tuesday. Of the seven, only former UF assistant Matt McCall, now at Tennessee-Chattanooga, had a higher win total (22) to match than the 16 White was chasing this season.

* 8 -- Victories in SEC play for the Gators if they can beat Alabama. That would match last year's total when UF finished 8-10 in conference play.

* 28.9 -- Sophomore point guard Chris Chiozza's shooting percentage over the previous six games, which includes 8-for-29 (27.5 percent) from the 3-point arc.

* 39 -- The Crimson Tide's RPI, which is fifth-best in the SEC -- behind Kentucky (16), Florida (23), Texas A&M (24) and South Carolina (26) -- and puts them in the NCAA bubble conversation.

WATCH FOR IT

As of this morning, less than 100 tickets remained for the game, so it could join West Virginia as the second sellout this season. The O'Dome atmosphere, especially given the stakes, should be tremendous.

Gators Calendar

Pregame Shootaround: Florida vs Alabama (Saturday, 5:30 pm)

Players Mentioned

Chris Chiozza

Billy Donovan

John Egbunu

Dorian Finney-Smith

Justin Leon

Devin Robinson

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Pregame Shootaround: Florida vs Alabama (Saturday, 5:30 pm)

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Players Mentioned

Chris Chiozza

Billy Donovan

John Egbunu

Dorian Finney-Smith

Justin Leon

Devin Robinson

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